


Scattered Petals

by Kisho



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-19 19:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10646070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisho/pseuds/Kisho
Summary: He knew he was nothing like Gaston, but today Stanley would at least try to be as bold as him.





	1. Chapter 1

All of the men in town admired Gaston. He was a man who was bold, handsome, and down right charming. Anyone who dared to compare themselves to him faced ridicule and humiliation. There was no other man like Gaston, and that was a simple fact. 

This had never bothered Stanley before. When Gaston would pass by, Stanley would give him an approving nod and smile and continue the rest of his day as normal. But, that all changed when he met Lefou.

Stanley had often seen Lefou trailing behind Gaston, but he never had an opinion on him. Lefou was just Gaston’s right hand man.

He can’t remember the exact day it happened, but Stanley remembered how sullen he was. His entire mood was dreary, and the weather seemed to reflect his mood. Stanley was carrying a couple of packages to deliver, and somehow Tom and Dick managed to avoid the work. 

The packages were stacked high, so Stanley couldn’t properly see what was in front of him. He had hoped people would have the common sense not to bump into him. Apparently, Lefou did not. 

All of the packages Stanley was carrying went tumbling onto the ground, and Lefou stood in front of him in surprise. 

“I am so sorry.” Lefou quickly said. He got down on his knees and began picking up the packages. Stanley just sighed and picked up the packages as well. When they were done, Lefou flashed him a nervous smile. “I really am sorry. Do you want some help delivering these?”

Stanley was caught of guard for a second. “No, it’s fine. I can do it myself.”

“Nonsense. You could barely see a thing with that huge stack covering your face. Now, where are these suppose to go?”

And every since that day, Stanley had found his heart racing just a little bit faster whenever he caught sight of Lefou. He smiled a lot more whenever he heard Lefou’s laughter in the tavern. His heart ached whenever he saw Lefou with Gaston.

In one of the stands, a bouquet of roses seemed to call out to Stanley. He approached the stand, full of curiosity. 

“Have a special girl in mind?” asked the seller, noticing Stanley’s interest. Stanley laughed nervously.

“Erm, no. I was just—”

“I can guarantee she’ll love them. All girls love pretty flowers.” 

Stanley considered the seller’s words and checked the price. “I’m sure they do. Shame I can’t afford spending my money so extravagantly.” 

The seller chuckled, pulled out one of the roses from the bouquet, and handed it to Stanley. He stared at the rose, surprised.

“Don’t look so frightened! Just take it!”

“B-But, I can’t just—”

“It’s fine. You’ll just owe me one. Now, go woo that girl.” Stanley carefully took the rose, as if it would snap if he held it too tight. He smiled at the seller and walked away, muttering “that boy” under his breath.

Stanley imagined himself giving the rose to Lefou. Would Lefou accept it happily, or would he just reject him? Stanley began to break out into a sweat and considered throwing the rose away. Stanley stopped walking and took a deep breath. He knew he was nothing like Gaston, but today Stanley would at least try to be as bold as him.

With that decision, Stanley held his head up high and marched towards the direction of Lefou’s house. His determination made him feel as if no one could stop him.

“Stanley, my friend!”

Except, of course, the man he was trying to imitate. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards Gaston. The larger man placed his arm around Stanley’s shoulders and pointed to the rose he was holding on to so tightly.

“Ah. Which lucky lady are you planning on giving that to?” Stanley glanced at the rose. His heart was pounding. Why was Gaston speaking to him? The most they would say to each other was a simple  _ good morning _ whenever they would pass by each other. 

“Good afternoon, Gaston,” Stanley futilely hid the rose behind him, “No one special, really.” 

“Oh, come on, you can tell  _ me _ .” Gaston squeezed Stanley’s shoulder a little too tight for his liking. 

“Gaston, really, it’s nothing.” Gaston removed his arm from Stanley’s shoulders and ripped the rose out of his hand. Stanley attempted to grab it back, but Gaston kept him at arm’s length. “What are you doing?"

Gaston examined the rose, as if he was looking for thorns. “I’m going to make some guesses. You’ll tell me if I’m getting close, won’t you?”

“Gaston, please,” Stanley practically begged. He didn’t like where this was going.

“Relax, my friend. It’ll be fun. Now,” Gaston plucked one of the rose petals and let it fall to his feet, “this person is shorter than you and I, correct?”

Stanley stared at the petal that had fallen. “A lot of people are.”

“That’s very true. I suppose I should try a little harder.” Gaston yet again plucked another petal. The rose was beginning to look pathetic. “This person usually wears a big red bow.” Stanley said nothing, but Gaston smiled knowingly.

Another petal was removed. Two were left. “This person likes to sing of my successes.” 

“Gaston, please stop.” Gaston dropped the rose and stomped on it. 

“This person is named Lefou. Am I correct?” Stanley looked away from him, ashamed that he had allowed Gaston to mess with him like this. 

“I’ve had enough of this. Your guess is incredibly ridiculous."

Gaston scoffed. “Oh, please. I’m not stupid. I've seen the way you look at him. I've seen you attempt to make conversation with him. It's extremely aggravating.”

“What's it to you, Gaston?” Gaston reached out to grab his shoulder, but Stanley smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“My poor boy, I only want to help you,” Gaston said, attempting to sound sincere. Stanley could see the mockery in his eyes.

“You’ve done enough,” Stanley scowled. Gaston grabbed his arm and pulled him close. 

“Do you honestly think Lefou could ever love someone like you?” Stanley refused to look at Gaston. People around them were starting to notice something wasn’t quite right. “You don’t deserve him."

“Then who does? Hm? You?” Stanley almost said it as a challenge. He didn’t know what he was saying. He was trembling from anger. 

“If anything, that man doesn’t deserve  _ me _ .” 

The people around him gasped. Stanley didn’t realize why until his hand began to throb in pain. Blood trickled from Gaston’s mouth, and he stared at him in shock. Shocked that another man would dare lay his hands on him. 

“You’re going to  **regret** that.” 

One punch from Gaston sent Stanley straight to the floor. He attempted to get right back up, but Gaston was already on top of him, grabbing him by the collar and slamming his head onto the ground. He felt his lip bust open with the touch of Gaston’s knuckles. Stanley’s face was bloodied, and he knew it. But his attempts to get Gaston off of him were futile. The man was bigger than him and stronger. His hands weakly grabbed the hand that held his collar. 

“GASTON STOP!” 

Stanley felt Gaston pull him up from his collar, and he opened the eye that wasn’t so swollen. Gaston was shaking with rage, and his face was splattered with Stanley’s blood. Behind him, Lefou was clenching the back of his jacket. 

“Gaston, that’s enough.” Gaston’s grip on Stanley’s collar only tightened. “Gaston, please. I’m begging you. Let him go.” 

With a growl, Gaston tossed Stanley back onto the ground and stood up. He pushed passed Lefou and exclaimed, “Let’s go.”

Lefou hesitated. He looked down at Stanley, worried about whether or not he would be alright. It felt wrong to just leave him on the street.

“Lefou!” Whatever thoughts of disobedience he had were now gone, and Lefou quickly followed behind Gaston. 

Stanley turned to his side and spit out the blood in his mouth. He touched his face and felt the sticky liquid everywhere. He tried getting to his feet, but he stumbled to his knees. The people around him stared at him with pity, but no one attempted to come help him.

Under the blood and dirt, Stanley’s cheeks were burning. He felt humiliated. Lefou had seen him at his lowest and ran off with the man who had done this to him. Lefou didn’t owe anything to Stanley, but he still felt betrayed. In the corner of his eye, he could see the ruined rose laying next to its scattered petals. That might as well have been his heart. 

“Aw, geez, look at ya.” Stanley felt himself being lifted off the ground and to his feet. “What made you think fighting Gaston would be a good idea?”

Tom and Dick were at his side, giving him a reassuring smile. They dusted off his clothing and patted his back. 

“Let's get you home.”

* * *

By the time night had come, Stanley had already cleaned the blood off of his face. The doctor had come by to stitch up some of the cuts Gaston had left him.

Stanley stared at his mirror and examined his wounds. His left eye was swollen and his top lip had stitches. Most of his left side was bruised, while the right seemed to be fine. He touched his cheek and winced. How could he have ever looked up to Gaston?

A soft knock at the door caught his attention. He approached the door but didn't open it. 

“Stanley, it’s me.” Immediately, Stanley opened the door and saw Lefou holding a bag. 

“What are you doing here? Is—” Stanley looked outside of his home and scanned the road.

“No! It's just me. I brought something for you.” Lefou held up the bag. “Can I come in?”

Stanley hesitated at first, but he stepped aside to let Lefou in. 

“It might be a bit late, but I brought you some ice for your face.” He handed Stanley the bag, which was slightly damp from the melting ice. Stanley pressed it against his face and let out a soft sigh. 

“I appreciate it,” Stanley said quietly. The two said nothing for a bit. His brain tried to think of something else, but nothing seemed appropriate at the moment. 

“Are you okay?” Lefou asked, at last. Stanley shrugged his shoulders. 

“I'll live.”

“Do you want to tell me why you hit Gaston?” 

Stanley laughed, but it sounded tired and defeated. 

“I probably shouldn't have done that. I could never defeat him in a fight.”

“So why did you?” Lefou crossed his arms. He didn't look mad at Stanley. Rather, he looked concerned. Almost as if he cared about his wellbeing. 

“Look, Lefou, I appreciate the ice, but that doesn't concern you. That was between Gaston and I.” Of course, that wasn't true, but there was no way Stanley was going to confess anything today. 

Lefou sighed, “Okay. You're right. It doesn't. I just wanted to come see if you were alright. Goodnight, Stanley.” Lefou walked out the door, and Stanley followed closely behind. 

“Do you want me to walk you home?” 

“No, I'll be fine.”

“Okay, well,” Stanley played with his door handle. He didn't want Lefou to leave just yet. “Goodnight.”

Lefou nodded, and soon he disappeared into the night. Stanley watched until he could no longer see him and closed the door, hoping for another chance to tell the man his true feelings. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple days after the first chapter

Stanley wasn't the type of man who held grudges. Usually, whenever he’d have problems with someone, they'd talked it out and moved on. His parents had taught him that refusing to move on hurt a person rather than help them.

However, Stanley decided to make an exception for Gaston. The bruises from Gaston’s assault were still present on his face, and the pain had not gone away yet. Plus, Gaston wasn’t the type of man who’d talk things out. He preferred settling things with his fists (or his quiver).

Despite this grudge, there was nothing Stanley could actually do. He could never defeat Gaston in a fight, and Tom and Dick admired Gaston too much to stand up to him. Stanley begrudgingly accepted this as he drank his beverage at the tavern. Earlier, Tom and Dick had tried to include Stanley in their conversation, but he wasn't in the mood to socialize. Eventually, they gave up and enjoyed themselves.

A voice caught Stanley’s attention, and he looked up just in time to see Gaston and LeFou walk into the tavern. His eyes met Gaston’s, and the man gave him a smug smile. Unlike Stanley, there was no sign of their altercation on Gaston’s face. The two men kept their eyes locked on each other as Gaston passed his table.

“Stanley,” Gaston greeted, as if they were old pals. Rather than reply, Stanley looked away from Gaston and focused on his drink. To his surprise, Gaston kept walking and sat at his usual chair. LeFou wasn't far behind.

Throughout the night, Stanley couldn’t help himself. He kept glancing over to where LeFou was. Gaston was busy retelling one of his stories as usual, and LeFou was hanging on to his every word. He wasn’t the only one listening. A couple of girls were sitting on the floor, fascinated by the story.

Stanley was just about to go home when Gaston took one of the girl's hand and led her out the tavern. The rest of the girl’s looked disappointed. LeFou stood up and looked like he was about to leave as well. Stanley finally processed that LeFou was no longer at Gaston’s side.

“LeFou!” The man looked at Stanley, surprised that someone was calling out to him. “Care to join us?” LeFou looked at the tavern door, thinking for a moment. Then he went over to Stanley’s table and sat across from him.

“Oh, look who’s finally talking!” Stanley punched Tom in the arm to shut him up, but the man just laughed. “Sorry, are we not that interesting to ya?”

“The two of you are just about as interesting as the dirt on my shoes.” Stanley stated, and Tom and Dick feigned offense. LeFou couldn’t help but chuckle at the men’s banter. “Are you having anything to drink?”

“Not tonight,” Lefou shrugged, “How are you feeling?”

“Well, I can’t sleep on my left side, but other than that, I’m alright.”

“Sorry about Gaston.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Tom and Dick had lost their interest in the two men and were having a completely different conversation. Stanley couldn’t remember the last time he had a casual conversation with LeFou and didn’t want to ruin his chance to get closer to the man.

“It’s a bit crowded in here. Do you want to go somewhere else?” asked Stanley.

“Somewhere else? It’s already dark. Where do you want to go?”

“Don’t know. Anywhere but here, though.” Stanley could feel his heart pounding. His palms were sweating. LeFou’s face was unreadable.

“Okay.” With that, LeFou stood up and headed towards the door. Stanley stayed sitting down for a few moments before realizing that LeFou had agreed. He practically ran out to follow LeFou.

They walked side by side, not really saying much. Stanley looked around to try and find something of interest. There wasn’t much to do in such a small town, especially at night. The only place that buzzed with life at night was the tavern, but he didn’t want to go back.

“I heard the forest is lovely at this time of day,” Stanley suggested, not sure if LeFou would be interested.

“Seriously? Now?” Stanley smiled. “Let’s go.”

And despite not having a lantern, the two headed towards the forest. It wasn’t as dark as Stanley thought it would be. The moonlight above cast enough light for the two to navigate through the forest.

The forest seemed a lot different at night. The time of day gave the forest a bluish tint to it. Above them, Stanley could see through the gaps of the tree leaves thousands of stars. He looked at LeFou and saw that the man was also admiring the stars.

“This is much better than the tavern,” LeFou said at last.

“I agree. Much less crowded.” LeFou studied Stanley, as if he was trying to find some hidden meaning to Stanley’s words. “I mean, I just think it’s nice to step away from the guy’s noisy conversations. Really nice not to have girls bothering me now that Gaston isn’t there.” LeFou chuckled.

“Not a fan of being the apple in their eyes?”

“Er, not really. I’m not really interested in...their attention I guess.” LeFou considered Stanley’s words. He wondered if LeFou understood what he meant. “What about you? Any plans on settling with one of the ladies sometime?”

The look on LeFou’s face was almost comical. The man looked as if he was trying to hold in his laughter.

“Definitely not. None of the girls in the town really catch my interest. I suppose I’m like you.”

Stanley suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach. Did he mean—

LeFou’s yawn snapped him out of his thoughts. “I should probably get home. I’m tired.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s really late. Do you want me to walk you home?

"It's fine. You should be heading home as well."

"Alright. See you tomorrow, then?”

“I hope so.” As LeFou walked away, the butterflies in Stanley’s slowly went away.

* * *

 ** _BLAM BLAM BLAM!_** The sudden knocking at the door awoke Stanley from his slumber. He stared at the door, confused. Who could be at his door so early in the morning? The knocking persisted as he made his way over to the door.

“Why on Earth—” Stanley’s voice trailed off when he saw the source of the knocking. Gaston shoved past him and entered his home. He began to search the rooms of the small house. It took Stanley a few moments to process what was happening. “Gaston, get out of my house.”

Gaston ignored him and continued his search. That certainly wouldn’t do. He grabbed the dagger on his table and followed Gaston. He grabbed the man’s arm.

“I won’t say this again. Get out,” Stanley threatened, pointing at the door with his dagger. Gaston ignored the dagger and leaned closer to Stanley.

“Where is he?” Gaston said in a low growl.

“Gaston—”

“I know he was with you last night. Tom told me. Now, answer my question.” Gaston was now towering over Stanley. He should have felt afraid, but Stanley felt surprisingly calm.

“Last night? Are you talking about LeFou?”

“He didn’t come home last night. Where is he?” That feeling of calm began to turn into dread. Why hadn’t LeFou returned home? He had been fine the night before.

“What do you mean he didn’t come home? Where is he?” Stanley could hear the panic in is his voice.

“I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking you imbecile!”

“He couldn’t have just disappeared!”

“So where did you two go?” Gaston was now shouting. Stanley’s heart was pounding; his mind was racing. He shouldn’t have let LeFou walk home by himself. What if he was hurt? What if he was…

“W-We were in the forest last night. He wanted to go home by himself, and I let him,” Stanley said at last. That was all Gaston needed to hear. He pushed Stanley out of his way and headed out the door. “Wait! Let me come with you.”

“I don’t need your help,” Gaston stated and was out the door. Stanley wasn’t too far behind. Gaston knew Stanley was following him, but he tried to ignore the man. He had hoped Stanley would eventually stop following him. When it became obvious that Stanley had no plans on doing that, Gaston stopped and turned around. “When I said I don’t need your help, what I really meant was I don’t **_want_ ** your help.”

“I don’t care about what you want,” scoffed Stanley, “All I care about is LeFou’s wellbeing.”

Gaston grabbed Stanley’s shoulder, and he immediately recalled the rose Gaston had ruined. “There’s the other thing. I thought our last conversation gave you insight as to where you stand with LeFou."

“Frankly, I don’t think that has anything to do with you,” Stanley said with a smile. He patted Gaston’s cheek and moved past him. “Plus, I think there’s more pressing matters at hand.”

“I’d be careful not to make me angry, Stanley,” Gaston said, “Especially since LeFou isn’t here to stop me.”

Stanley ignored Gaston and continued walking. His mission was to find LeFou and bring him home safe and sound. If that meant putting up with Gaston, then so be it.

As the two approached the forest, Stanley’s mind was drifting back to last night. He thought about LeFou’s words, and the butterflies returned.

“This way,” Stanley said, leading Gaston.

There was no woman that interested LeFou. He could feel a smile form on his lips, but his mind decided to ruin his mood. Just because LeFou didn’t like women, that didn’t mean he _liked_ Stanley. He could confess everything to LeFou but still be rejected.

“We parted here. He went in that direction.” Gaston looked around the area. It looked nice under the sunlight, but Stanley preferred how it looked under the moonlight with LeFou.

“Why did you bring him here?” Gaston asked so softly that Stanley almost didn’t hear him. How uncharacteristic of him. “Did you tell him?”

Stanley could feel his face heating up, and he kept walking. “Tell him what?”

“Don’t act stupid. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” The soft look Gaston had earlier disappeared, and his usual face of discontent returned.

“Why are you suddenly so interested in what I do?”

“LeFou is my best friend. I’m just looking out for him. I _know_ he can do better than you.”

“Is that the case? Or are you just worried he won’t follow you around anymore?” Stanley shot back. Gaston was about to answer, but then he noticed something up ahead.

“Is that—” Under a tree, a familiar figure was laying against the bark, crossing his arms and his head slumped to the side. The two men ran up to the figure and went to their knees.

“LeFou!” The man woke startled, surprised to see Stanley and Gaston in front of him, “Why the _hell_ are you sleeping here? Why didn’t you come home?”

LeFou was trying to find the words to explain his actions. Stanley was just glad that LeFou seemed relatively alright.

“I sat here, because there was some things I wanted to think about. I suppose I accidentally fell asleep.” LeFou offered, slightly embarrassed. Without thinking, Stanley put his hand over LeFou’s. This didn’t go unnoticed by Gaston.

“You’re freezing. You better go home and warm yourself up,” Stanley said with a soft smile. LeFou didn’t pull his hand away from Stanley, and he returned the smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”

“I’m just glad you’re fine.”

Without warning, Gaston pulled LeFou up to his feet and began dragging him away. “He’s quite right. We better get you home as quickly as possible. Thanks for your help, _Stanley_.”

His name sounded unpleasant coming from Gaston’s mouth. He glared at Gaston as he pulled LeFou away, but he felt his heart flutter when he saw LeFou looking back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments from the previous chapter :-)! I really appreciate them, especially since it feels like ages since I've written anything. Originally, this story was just suppose to be one chapter, but then this idea popped into my head. I'll probably add more chapters to this if more ideas pop into my head, but I can't promise anything. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter :-)


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